


Loopholes in romance

by BarPurple



Series: Layers of Love [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Pre-Relationship, aranged marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 14:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16620770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: Gold must wed in order to increase his standing in society, but the new fashions in marriage are very stressful for a man who likes to research and plan.





	Loopholes in romance

**Author's Note:**

> Joylee asked how gold found himself engaged to Belle.

Gold was rapidly losing his temper, his patience had vanished an hour ago, leaving his tone sharp and curt. He could already hear his accent thickening, if his control on his temper broke then the fine gentlemen would receive an education in colloquial obscenity.

Gold prided himself on his calm and measured approach to business negotiations, there was an art to making a deal and writing the perfect contract. Of course, making a deal was always easier when one did not have to bend to the follies of fashion. He knew what the answer would be, but he had to ask.

"And why can't we follow the traditional process?"

Sir Maurice, old title, older family, land rich but tightrope walking on the edge of bankruptcy, huffed at him; "Because Gold the old ways are exactly that old. Only fit for those of the lower classes..."

The distasteful curl of Sir Maurice’s lip was fleeting, but Gold had been watching for it. No matter how much he needed this deal it still irked his finer sensibilities to be reduced to making it with one such as Gold. Needs must when the devil drives, and Gold had long known that any fine ideals could be put aside to keep the bailiff from the door.

"…these days the elite follow the example of our illustrious Queen and her beloved Prince. A blind wedding led to their happiness and so will it lead to yours and my daughter's"

Gold pinched the bridge if his nose and wondered for the tenth time if this was a sensible idea. The business side was sound; he would secure Sir Maurice's finances and have a controlling vote in all ventures current and future. But the road to secure the deal and a better place for himself in society was one he had avoided for all his forty years on earth; marriage.

And because of this frankly ridiculous fad sprung from the royal family he was expected to go in to the state of wedded bliss blind.

He'd put off marrying for a few years and now he was paying the price. The fashion had changed, and common sense had been tossed out of the window in the name of romantic foolery.

Gold could step back from this deal without losing any ground. Sir Maurice was the desperate party here, and while a marriage to Miss French would improve Gold’s social standing, he could continue to make his way without it. The quality folk of society might not like him, but their abysmal financial sense meant that they needed him.

Was he willing to gamble and hope the he and Miss French were compatible? Thoughts of his beautiful but oftentimes lonely house drifted through his mind and he decided that he was willing to take the risk.

"Very well, we shall follow the fashion. I will wed Miss French three months from now, and we will meet the first time at the altar."

Sir Maurice was quick to sign the contract and pour the port. Gold refused to let his reluctance show, but that didn't mean he didn't feel it, the apprehension that came with a gamble were the odds were out of his control. As he signed his name it hit him that in this instance the odds had a name and face, Miss Belle French was the variable he could not account for.

While Sir Maurice was making toasts to a happy union and a prosperous business future Gold masked the fear that rose within him. Had he just made a terrible mistake?

Gold was accustomed to fear. It had long been a constant companion, from childhood when he was never sure if his father would praise or mock him, from his teenage years when he had to duck his mother's hand and avoid her cruel words, to adulthood when he constantly waited to be ousted from the position he had clawed for himself in society. Gold knew fear well, and knew how to face it with feigned bravery, but in the question of his upcoming marriage he had no knowledge to draw on. So, he did the only thing he could think of and paid a visit to his friend Madden.

 

Jefferson Madden, Lord Hatfield, was considered charmingly eccentric by society at large. While eyebrows had been raised at his friendship with Gold, no one was truly surprised. Madden was simply the sort of fellow to form unusual friendships. Once the ladies and gentlemen of Madden's circle had perceived Gold's usefulness many had if not welcomed the lowborn fellow, then had tolerated him.

There were many whispered rumours about Gold’s roots, but Madden was the only person who knew the truth, or at least as much of the truth as Gold had been willing to share with him during a blunt conversation some years into their established friendship. Gold was an illegitimate son of a lord and his housekeeper. He had apparently been educated as a gentleman, in case his father needed a spare, as he bitterly put it. Gold had not offered the name of his father, and Madden had not pressed the matter.

Over the years Madden had seen Gold display all manner of emotions, but he had never seen this blend of desperation and fear on his friend’s face before. There was something more troubling Gold than the new marriage ideas.

"You are a braver man than I, Gold, it would take a shotgun to get me to the altar these days. Then again of course there are very few ladies I am not acquainted with, so the chances of a blind marriage for me are slim to none."

Gold took a sip of his brandy and asked hopefully; "Do you know Miss French?"

It was against the trend to provide a man with any information about his bride-to-be, but Madden frequently bucked trends for the simple pleasure of the shock it caused. In this case his friend was in need of reassurance and trends could go hang.

"By sight only. We have never been formally introduced. Sir Maurice has kept the young lady on a tight rein since her mother’s passing.”

Gold sagged back into his chair and stared morosely at his glass. Madden opted to be up beat and cheerful, sometimes his exuberance for a subject would cause Gold to reveal his feelings in the form of a quip or biting remark.

"Buck up old man, you've been wanting to wed for ages and now the date is only three months away."

"And I will wait blindly at the altar to exchange I dos with a woman who has never set eyes on me. What if she runs screaming from the church? What if she doesn't? Jeff?"

Gold's use of his given name told madden the depth of his anxiety.

"You are concerned that she will object to your appearance?"

Gold nodded and waved a hand at himself; "How could she not?"

Madden found nothing objectionable in Gold’s looks, if fact had his friend shared his inclinations he would have happily enjoyed becoming intimately involved with him. Gold had shown no interest in Madden’s subtly flirtations, and they had become a simple part of their communication, and nothing more. For some reason Gold thought himself repulsive.

"Why don't you casually bump into Miss French at a gathering? You get a look at her and she gets a look at you."

Gold snorted; "It is not permitted under these bloody stupid rules of romance."

Madden grinned and clapped his hands together; "Then we have a fortuitous accident to plan."

 

After much consideration Gold had conceded to an apparent chance meeting between himself and Miss French in a public setting where she was well chaperoned. His thinking in this had been if love at first sight was now accepted by society then revulsion at first sight would also be. He was adamant that there should be no shame or blame attached to Miss French if she took one look at him and refused to go through with the wedding.

Willingly aided by Madden he had spent a month sewing the seeds of suggestion in certain well-connected ears. There was already quiet talk in the salons that it maybe wise to prepare for the possibility of an instant dislike occurring between bride and groom; a marriage unhappy from the start would spell problems for the production of heirs, and the dreadful possibility of scandal further down the line. The insane fad of blind marriage was still being lauded as the done thing, but now there was a little bending of the rigid rules that had been dreamed up for this romantic nonsense.

Gold had not been expecting to stride into the assembly and set eyes on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. There was the expected kerfuffle about his presence, carefully started by Madden, and quickly picked up by Sir Maurice and some gossipy matrons. Gold made a formal bow to his intended who surprised him by returning a deep curtsey before he turned his back on her and allowed himself to be escorted out.

He waited on tenterhooks for her to make a formal rejection of their engagement. It did not come. Gold had to accept that he was marrying a woman he had never spoken to.

And he was terrified.


End file.
